Business Contracts – Agreements

Business contracts attorney, Valerie L. Kramer, can help individuals, professionals and business owners get their business contracts, agreements, sales orders, employment, 1099 contractor agreements, invoices and other core business documents in order.

Business contracts and agreements are a necessary component of every Orange County business. Whether a one-person operation or a thriving business, you need to have properly-drafted core business contracts and business agreements that are specifically-tailored to what you do. Anytime money changes hands in a business transaction, a contract has been entered. To protect you from potential disagreements or even a lawsuit that could devastate both you and your business it is best that all your daily paperwork documents are explicitly and expertly tailored to protect you from financial or even criminal harm.

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE A lawyer we talked to was retained to defend a car stereo installation business. IF ONLY they had had a straight-forward ‘terms of sales contract’ on the back of their shop agreement that ALL their clients would sign before the stereo installation, they would now be $15,000 to the good today.

business contracts attorney

The Back Story – Because they used QuickBooks to generate a simple sales invoice where they typed up what they intended to do and how much the service was to cost, with NO ‘terms of sales” AGREEMENT on the bottom or backside of the copy paper they printed on-demand from their laser printer, they were unprotected when a client claimed to the police that they stole a $30,000 diamond tennis bracelet from their vehicle.

legal agreement for QuickBooks and FreshBooks

During discovery, it was uncovered that the plaintiff had also visited a car wash immediately following the stereo installation (a more likely business known for customer property theft with multiple people’s hands in every corner of the vehicle — if the bracelet was stolen at all). The car wash customer ticket — much like a ski slope ticket, or a movie ticket, was covered by a short but powerful one-sided agreement that all car wash customers ‘agree to’ by paying for the wash. That ticket held the car wash operator harmless for everything including nuclear attack on Tuesday at 2:31 pm….

That’s exactly how the stereo shop should have protected themselves. In the end, the mediator split the difference and the unprotected car stereo owner had 9-months to fork over a $15,000 cashier’s check or the arbitration agreement would become an enforceable court judgment! The fact that the car wash visit was only admitted to in discovery led the defense attorney to believe that the whole case was a scam. If so, it was a scam that could have be prevented the minute the customer signed the stereo shop’s “everyday paperwork” permitting the stereo install while simultaneously agreeing to some very detailed, protective legal wording.

Clear and Concise Business Contract are Incredibly VALUABLE

Whether you are starting a new business, or becoming savvy about your existing business, getting your paperwork in legal order is smart. Drafting a handful of clear and concise business contracts and agreements that you will use in your day-to-day business transactions is a wise business decision. Ask any business owner who has been in business for a decade or more if they’ve ever had any legal “issues?” It is often eye-opening. Operating your business with clear and concise business contracts and agreements can address common misunderstandings or costly, unnecessary litigation. Most business contracts, sales documents, invoices are straight-forward, and the small amount of time and cost invested is something you will share with your business-owner friends who remain “legally naked.”

Are You Practicing Unprotected, “Risky Business?”

Not using protection? – The public warnings about risky sex between consenting adults can be analogous to having risky business dealings.

Many of our new clients who come in to do the right thing by way of getting their business documents in order, confess that before they decided to take the plunge into “safe business transactions,” that their day-to-day business deals (often tens of thousands of dollars) consisted of a verbal conversation, a handshake or a few email exchanges. That was it! No protective legal “fine print” or “boiler plate” language to protect the business from common pitfalls of conducting any business.

To better assist clients get their core business documents in order, we first brainstorm the businesses’ typical transactions looking for problematic “what-ifs.” The car stereo installer will have different vulnerabilities that are far different from the protections that a custom kitchen cabinet maker/installer needs to protect their business. The kitchen cabinet business has various interactions with city inspectors, the CSLB and their State Contractors License and all that legal baggage. Don’t you just love operating a business in California?

cabinets

Specific Contractual Verbiage Necessary for EVERY Business

Business contracts attorney, Valerie L. Kramer, can quickly and efficiently draft the day to day contractual verbiage that you can then have printed on your core business documents. Many clients will add the contract wordage to their documents vis their QuickBooks software or Word.docs forms as needed.

Your day to day documents should contain certain – powerful recitals and include covenants, representations, service and product warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability or remedy, indemnification clauses, confidentiality clauses, protections for intellectual property, types or forms of notice, termination clauses, a choice of law venue and forum, and dispute resolution clauses.

Providing Experienced Business Contract Drafting & Review

Attorney Kramer is aware that affordable cost is the primary concern underlying any business investment. Valerie has been practicing law for many decades and does not waste time doing the research a new, or less-experienced lawyer might need. Valerie is a business attorney. Drafting business contracts is a skill that gets more efficient the more years one does the work.

Attorney Kramer is experienced with many contracts and agreements, including, but not limited to the following:

  • Business Formation Agreements
  • LLC Operating Agreements
  • Commercial Lease Agreements – Drafting & Review
  • Customer Contracts and Agreements
  • Employment & Independent Contractor Agreements
  • Equipment Lease Agreements
  • Licensing Agreements
  • Management Contracts
  • Partnership Agreements
  • Profit Sharing Agreements
  • Purchase and Sale Agreements
  • Non-Disclosure, Confidentiality, Non-Competition, Non-Compete Agreements
  • Real Estate Agreements & Review
  • Real Estate, Landlord/Tenant Agreements & Review
  • Vendor and Distributor Agreements

Whether your business is in Orange County, Los Angeles, or Riverside, Valerie can provide you expert business contracts drafting and review services you require to keep your business protected and thriving.

Call Valerie L. Kramer for a Free Phone Consultation

Call Orange County business contract attorney, Valerie L. Kramer, for a free phone consultation. Attorney Kramer is dedicated to helping Orange County entrepreneurs, professionals, contract and Gig workers, and small business owners make educated, informed decisions about their business transactions, endeavors, opportunities and disputes. Call Valerie at (714) 395-5669 for a phone consultation or to set up an appointment to review your business contract matter.